The present invention relates to appliances in general, and more particularly to improvements in household appliances of the type wherein a rotary knife is used to slice bread or other foodstuffs. Still more particularly, the invention relates to improvements in appliances of the type wherein the thickness of slices can be varied by changing the position of a stop for foodstuffs with reference to the plane of the knife.
As a rule, the means for adjusting the position of the stop with reference to the knife comprises a nut which is secured to a stationary part of the housing of the appliance and a feed screw which is rotatably mounted on the stop and meshes with the nut. It is also known to employ a fixedly mounted feed screw which meshes with a rotatable nut. In most instances, the feed screw is a metallic part which must be adequately anchored in the stop or in the housing, especially if the stop or housing is made of a different material (e.g., a synthetic plastic substance). Moreover, the material of the metallic feed screw is likely to rust, especially if the appliance is used for the slicing of foodstuffs containing certain types of acids. Still further, the versatility of appliances using such adjusting devices is rather low.